London Defender

The Daily Mirror of the Great Britain

Turkey throws toys out of pram as Erdogan SNUBS vital COP26 in bitter swipe at Boris

And he accused Britain of failing to meet ‘s demands on security arrangements, suggesting he had not been offered the same arrangements as another, unnamed country. Heads of state and government from around the world are attending , seen as critical to averting the most disastrous effects of .

Erdogan had been expected to join them in Scotland after attending the G20 summit in Rome at the weekend, but instead landed back in Turkey shortly after midnight on Monday.

Turkish media quoted him as telling reporters on his plane home Ankara had made demands regarding security protocol standards for the summit in Britain which had not been satisfied.

He said: “When our demands were not met we decided not to go to Glasgow.”

Mr Erdogan claimed the protocol standards which Ankara sought were those always implemented on his international trips.

Mr Johnson initially said the problem had been resolved, Mr Erdogan claimed.

However, he added: “But at the last moment he got back to us and said that the Scottish side was causing difficulties.”

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Mr Erdogan said he subsequently learned Turkey had sought were granted as an exception to another country, which he refused to name – but described the decision as unacceptable.

He said: “We are obliged to protect the dignity of our nation.”

A spokesman for Mr Johnson said the PM would not discuss the security arrangements for individuals.

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When asked what it meant for Mr Johnson’s hopes to get agreement on coal, the spokesman added: “We would’ve been pleased to see Erdogan attend in person.

“The Prime Minister will continue to seek to convince the Turkish government to do more and will do that at official level as well.”

A spokesperson for the British Government’s COP26 office declined to comment on security matters while Scottish police said they do not comment on VIP security.

A senior Turkish official earlier insisted British authorities had not met Turkey’s requests over security.

They said: “The president took such a decision because our demands regarding the number of vehicles for security and some other security-related demands were not fully met.”

Mr Erdogan had previously said he would meet US. President Joe Bide in Glasgow, but they met in Rome on Sunday.

Last month, Turkey’s parliament ratified the 2015 Paris climate agreement, becoming the last G20 country to do so.

Ankara had held off ratification for years, saying Turkey should not be classed as a developed country with reduced access to funding to support emissions cuts under the accord. It also said Turkey is historically responsible for a very small share of carbon emissions.

Mr Erdogan said last week Turkey had signed a memorandum of understanding under which it will get loans worth £2.34billion to help it meet clean energy goals set out in the Paris accord.

His decision not to attend is the latest blow to COP26, with other absentees including Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose country is by far the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia, one of the world’s top three oil producers.